2010 MotoGP – Aragon Photos

See photos of the 2010 Aragon Grand Prix in the 2010 MotoGP Aragon photo gallery.

Jorge Lorenzo quickly found a good rhythm in Friday's practice sessions but was overtaken in the second half of the afternoon session by Casey Stoner.

Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso took eighth on the timesheets in the first dry practice session at Aragon.

American Nicky Hayden stayed consistent in both sessions on Friday at Aragon despite wet conditions in the afternoon.

Dani Pedrosa struggled in the second practice session which was significantly slowed due to wet track conditions.

After taking 12th in Friday's first practice session, LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet improved and took the seventh-best time in the books.

Ducati's Casey Stoner set the fastest time during a wet practice session on Friday but was still more than 10 seconds off Pedorsa's time set during the first session.

Jorge Lorenzo: "It was good to have two practice sessions today; even though the overall amount of time is the same over four days, four separate sessions makes it easier to get to know the circuit and what we need in order to be fast here."

Nicky Hyaden: “I think they've built a track [Aragon] they can be proud of. It's a nice facility, the layout is good and safe. There are some fun sections with blind entries, some fast corners and some slow ones... it's a nice mix.”

Jorge Lorenzo stayed within the top-three for both sessions on Friday despite less than ideal conditions.

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa had the fastet lap on Friday out of both practice sessions.

Valentino Rossi: “We need to improve our setting because we're not at the maximum but I am happy about this start,” he said. “My leg is very good now but my shoulder is giving me some problems and we know we have to manage like this now until the end of the season. It's easier for the shoulder in the wet but I would still prefer it to be dry because this is a fun track to ride on."

Despite Ben Spies' lack of experience riding a MotoGP bike in the rain, the rookie excelled quickly and is pleased with his progress so far.

American Nicky Hyaden just missed a front row start at Aragon after placing fourth during qualifying.

Nicky Hayden: “Overall it's been a positive day. We have had two dry sessions and I had fun – we constantly made the bike a little bit faster and even though it would have been nice to be on the front row, we're only a tenth off, the team is doing a great job and we have to be satisfied."

Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo secured his 15th consecutive front row start of the '10 season during qualifying at Aragon.

Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo secured his 15th consecutive front row start of the '10 season during qualifying at Aragon.

Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa was in the running for pole position for much of the qualifying session but ran wide in the final minutes, allowing Stoner to snatch the faster lap.

Dani Pedrosa: “I’m happy to be on the front row as this was our main target for this afternoon’s session. I just made a little mistake and ran wide on my last fast lap when I was going well and was 0.2s ahead, so I think pole position could have been possible, but the front row is the important thing."

Valentino Rossi had a difficult qualifying session at Aragon after he took seventh on the grid with a time that was more than one second off the pace.

Ben Spies: “I'm pretty happy to be on the second row again and I managed to put in some decent laps on the race tire that bodes well for tomorrow. I'm in that top-six battle where I need to be and I'm satisfied with that because I'm still in that fight for the top- three in the Championship."

Ducati's Casey Stoner took his second pole of the 2010 season at Aragon ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.

American Nicky Hayden secured his first podium finish of the 2010 season at Aragon.

Yamaha's Valentino Rossi had a miserable race at Aragon where he finished sixth.

Casey Stoner successfully converted his pole position into a win at Aragon by more than five second ahead of Pedrosa.

Casey Stoner: “I had a little slip off in warm up this morning which was a worry going into the race. I was staying away from every white line that I could over the first few laps but we were able to pick up the pace when we needed to and bring home a win."

Round 13 of the 2010 MotoGP Championship at the Aragon circuit.

The MotoGP paddock circles the Aragon circuit during qualifying in Spain.

Fans at the Aragon circuit in Spain during Round 13 of the 2010 MotoGP Championship.

Ducati's Casey Stoner (#27) getting an excellent start from pole position on the grid.

Nicky Hayden: “This morning we were second in the dry and then in the afternoon we were third in the wet so it's been a good day. Casey looks strong too so it's good for the team and everybody back at the factory who are working hard to give us the opportunity to be competitive over the last six races."

American Nicky Hayden currently trails Ben Spies in the championship by only 11 points heading to Aragon.

Ducati's Nicky Hayden and Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo had an amazing battle which the American won for the final podium spot.

Andrea Iannone took his third win of the '10 season in dominant fashion over Julian SImon and Gabor Talmacsi.

Jorge Lorenzo: "I think tomorrow could be quite an exciting race for us and for the fans and for sure it will be a hard fight for me, but I will do my best as usual to get on the podium."

Jorge Lorenzo: "I'm riding well and I am happy about how I have improved my riding style in every practice to better suit this new track. I also understand the track better on every lap so this helps me to be faster. We are losing some time on the straight at the end of the lap so we have to be very strong in all the other parts to try to make up for it."

The Aragon circuit features a large section dedicated to Jorge Lorenzo fans...

Dani Pedrosa: “This afternoon in the wet we also started pretty well when it was raining properly, but then we had a small electrical problem with one bike and the other machine wasn’t ready to go out, so we lost some time in the garage and I wasn’t on track when the surface was improving at the end."

After taking 12th in Friday's first practice session, LCR Honda's Randy de Puniet improved and took the seventh-best time in the books.

Valentino Rossi: “Now we have to start from the third row and the start of the race will be very important because I have to try to improve my position and stay with the leaders."

Rookie Ben Spies in only 10 points away from Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi in the championship.

Ben Spies: "If we do have to ride in the rain now I'm confident that we're not miles off. The limits are super high in the rain and my lap times were coming down all session, so now I've got my head wrapped around what this bike and the tires can do in the wet, hopefully we can step up again next time.”

Casey Stoner: “This win is a big relief, to be honest! We had the first race in Qatar wrapped up until I made a mistake and their have been other opportunities to win this year that I have missed out on through my own errors.”

Casey Stoner's most recent win at Aragon has boosted him to third in the point standings.

Casey Stoner: “We've been trying different things for the last few weekends to try and get the bike more competitive without making really big progress but it looks like we might have found something here. We've changed the weight distribution a little bit and it has given me more grip and confidence."